יש תקלה במעלית, ולכן אני לוקח את המדרגות.

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Breakdown of יש תקלה במעלית, ולכן אני לוקח את המדרגות.

• יש: there is
• ו: and
• ב: in

Questions & Answers about יש תקלה במעלית, ולכן אני לוקח את המדרגות.

Why does the sentence start with יש?

יש is the Hebrew way to say there is / there are.

So יש תקלה במעלית literally means something like There is a malfunction in the elevator.

A native English speaker may expect a form of to be here, but Hebrew often uses יש for existence:

• יש זמן = there is time
• יש בעיה = there is a problem

This is one of the most common sentence patterns in Hebrew.

Why isn’t there a word for is in the sentence?

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So Hebrew often says:

• אני עייף = I am tired
• היא בבית = she is at home

But when Hebrew means there is / there are, it usually uses יש.

That is why the sentence has יש תקלה rather than a separate word meaning is.

Why is it תקלה and not התקלה?